


Tree House

by jagseun



Category: GOT7, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Markjin, Single Parents, and a cute daughter, hey you got this plot, jinyoung is mark's cute neighbour, mark is a single dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 14:39:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7442956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jagseun/pseuds/jagseun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark literally falls for Jinyoung while building a tree house for his daughter. markjin, one-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tree House

“Daddy!  Be careful!”

“Don’t worry!  Daddy is being very careful!”  A lie, he hardly had any idea what he was doing.

Mark’s daughter had bragged about how she saw a girl who had a tree house in a TV show and she just _wished_ she had one too.  She was rather clever despite her young age, never directly asking for anything but just mentioning it over and over until Mark knew what she was hinting at.

He was also a sucker for making his daughter happy.  That why he was here, up in the single tree in their backyard, hammering wooden boards together haphazardly and hoping it would turn out okay in the end.  Unfortunately, no amount of googling ‘ _how to build a tree house for dummies_ ’ was going to make his actual construction skills better.

“Kay!  I’ll just wait here daddy!”

“No!  Don’t stand too close just… a little further away, but not out of my sight!” He didn’t trust himself to not send a wooden board flying at the rate he was going.

“Kay!  I can’t wait for it to be done!”  She said, happily skipping over to play with her pile of toys sitting in their yard.

The tree was located already a bit too close to their fence, so it was only inevitable when the tree house extended over it, a part of it directly above his neighbour’s yard.  He hoped they wouldn’t mind but he couldn’t be sure, he had never met them.  His old neighbours moved out a month ago, they were a nice family so he was sorry for the loss.  Somehow, he hadn’t crossed paths yet with his new neighbour, which wasn’t strange, he didn’t make any effort to contact them, mostly driving his car into the front garage and walking right into his house every day.  He hadn’t even put much thought into it until this moment now.  _What if they were petty, would they file a complaint against him for having a tree house sticking half a meter into their backyard?_

He crawled carefully over and he laid board after board, nailing it down so it was securely in place, no matter how crooked.  He had given up on having it look good, at this point, all he wanted was to make sure it was sturdy.  From this angle, he could see over into his neighbour’s yard and- _wait,_ was that his neighbour?

There was a man, gardening gloves on his hands and earphones in his ears.  He was planting seeds in his garden, dancing along to his music every time he got up to grab something.  He must’ve been listening to the music really loudly if he was able to tune out all the hammering Mark was doing.

Against his better Judgement Mark leaned over to get a closer look, bending dangerously over the edge to catch a glimpse of his face.  As soon as he got a look at him clearly he gulped.  _Okay, he’s really cute._ He was already sweating but now he felt his heart hammering in his chest more loudly than he had hammered all afternoon.  _Focus Mark, you can’t get riled up over every cute guy you see._

He grabbed at another board and laid it down, sneaking a glimpse over the fence as he did so and regretting it immediately.  The man was now leaning over so he could plant some more seeds and Mark couldn’t take his eyes off him.  _Damn, he has a really nice ass.  Way too nice.  Who gave him the right?_ Mark thought as the man swayed his hips to the music and hummed cheerfully, not a care in the world.

Mark snapped himself out of it after he realized he had been sitting there staring for a solid minute and went back to hammering, barely missing his finger when he saw the man walking towards the part of the fence he was close to.  He still couldn’t hear a thing and Mark couldn’t help himself, leaning over the edge of the tree house and staring—

“Daddy!”

Mark was so startled he jumped, his knee sliding past where there was solid ground causing him to topple out of the tree, right on top of his handsome neighbour.

It all happened so fast, one minute he was falling, the next his neighbour was screaming, and now he was sitting on top of him.  _Oh, he’s even cuter up close._

“Hey!  Stop staring and get off me!”  Mark instantly rolled off him, the situation fully sinking in and the embarrassment slowly consuming him.

“I’m so sorry!  Really sorry!  Are you hurt, do you need help?”  He walked over to give him a hand to get up.

“Ugh, I’m fine, you’re not that heavy.  Where did you come from?”

“See, I was um building a tree hou—“

“DADDY!  DADDY! WHERE DID YOU GO?!”  He heard his daughter screaming bloody murder from the other side of the fence and his parental instincts kicked into full gear.

“Sweetheart!  Don’t worry!  I’m fine, I’m coming!”  He grabbed at the fence and was able to hoist himself over, returning to his daughter.  “Look, see, daddy’s fine!  I just fell; it’s not a big deal.”

She seemed happy enough to see that he was back and perfectly fine, thanks to his fall being cushioned by a human being.  “Kay, when is the tree house going to be finished?”  She asked calmly.

He heard his doorbell being pressed repeatedly and groaned.  “Sweetheart, it’s not finished yet.  Just stay right here and play a bit longer; daddy just has to deal with something.”  He ran off to answer his front door before she could reply.

“Hi.”  Mark said awkwardly as he opened to his neighbour.

“You fell over building a tree house?”

“Yeah… I’m so sorry”

Instead of getting angry he suddenly burst into laughter.  “Sorry, are you really that clumsy?  And you happened to fall over right when I was standing there!  Now that’s a funny coincidence.  You must have some awful luck.”

Mark was both shocked and relieved.  “I guess… it’s kind of funny.”

“Daddy!  Daddy!  Who’s this?”  His daughter ran over and held on to his leg.

“Hey!  I told you to stay in the backyard!”

The man seemed intrigued, kneeling down so that they were at eye level before he spoke to her.  “Hey there, I live in the house next to yours.  My name is Jinyoung, what’s your name?”

She looked up at her dad for him to give her to go ahead to reply before she spoke.  “Celeste.”  She whispered, nervously shoving a thumb into her mouth.

“Wow! That’s a really pretty name!”  He said, giving her a warm smile and poking her cheek.  “You’re really cute.”

“Thank you.”  She said sincerely. 

Jinyoung stood back up and addressed Mark.  “Is this your daughter?”

“Yes, I’m Mark, nice to meet you, Jinyoung.”  He said shaking his hand.

“Your dad must love you a lot, building an entire tree house just for you!”  He talked to Celeste again, pure adoration in his eyes as he did so. 

_Really cute and good with kids, send help._ Mark thought grimly.

“I love daddy a lot too.”  Mark smiled and scooped her up in his arms.

“Aw, I love you too.”  He kissed her on the cheek and rubbed their noses together while giggling; completely forgetting that he was standing in front of someone for a moment.

 “I should get back to gardening, no hard feelings about the accident.”  Jinyoung said, realizing he should probably leave.

Mark put Celeste down and shooed her away back to the yard.  “Oh, okay.”  He tried to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“It was nice meeting you Mark, we’re neighbours now so feel free to drop if you need anything.”  Mark laughed and Jinyoung joined in when he realized he had made an unintentional pun.  “Really?”

Mark just laughed even harder.  “Sorry, I need to get back to Celeste.  I’ll see you around, hopefully.”

“Hopefully?”

“I mean, I’m not hopeful I’d see you again, in that way… I mean I wouldn’t be _against_ seeing you again… of course…”  Mark couldn’t find the right words back pedal out of the situation.

“Well, _I’m_ hopeful I’ll see you again.”  Jinyoung said as he turned around to walk back to his house.

_Was that flirting?_

_No, definitely not._

Mark should stop being delusional.

* * *

 

The monotonous ticking of his wall clock paired with the light buzz of the air conditioner was the perfect combination of white noise to lull Mark to sleep, except, it wasn’t night time and he wasn’t in bed.  Instead, he was laying his head on his desk atop his paperwork, trying to keep his eyes open as he knew he had to go pick Celeste up from preschool soon. 

Celeste had thrown a tantrum the night prior and he spent all night trying to calm her down and get her to bed, sacrificing his own sleep in the process.  She was always agitated during the night so this was common for him, but the days of little sleep were finally starting to wear him down. He was ready to collapse at any moment.

He was shocked wide awake when he heard his doorbell ringing, his head shooting up with a piece of paper stuck to his cheek.

He ran down the stairs to the door only to find the last person he was expecting.

“Hey.”  Jinyoung greeted.

“Hey, Jinyoung?  What are you doing here?”  Mark yawned as he spoke.  “Excuse me.”

“Sorry for dropping by unannounced but I baked some cookies today… sugar cookies.  My mom used to be famous for them and I think I’ve finally perfected the recipe I can’t eat them all myself, so I was wondering if Celeste would want some… that’s all.”  Jinyoung said, fidgeting out of embarrassment.

“Oh, that’s nice of you, but Celeste isn’t home right now.  I was just about to drive over and pick her up from… preschool.”  Mark wobbled on his feet when he tried to move and almost tipped over.  Jinyoung managed to hold him up with one arm.

“Whoa, you okay?” 

“I’m fine, just a little tired.  Sorry, I really need to pick Celeste up.”  Mark tried to turn around but Jinyoung didn’t let go of his arm.

“You can’t drive in that condition, it’s dangerous.”

“No, I need to…”  Mark felt himself rest back into Jinyoung’s grip, his legs refusing to take him forward.

“Where, are your keys?  I can drive you there, as long as you give me directions.  I can’t let you drive like this and have it on my conscience.” Jinyoung said, leaving no room for argument.  Mark could hardly disagree when he could hardly stand up by himself.

“I’m sorry… I don’t mean to inconvenience you again.”  Mark said as he shuffled through his pocket for his keys.

“It’s fine, really. I’m happy to do it.”

Jinyoung managed to take him and toss him into the front seat of the car, the last thing he remembered was giving some vague directions before he passed out.

* * *

 

“Mark?  Wake up, we’re here,” Jinyoung nudged him lightly, and Mark opened his eyes slowly, completely disoriented. “You need to go get her… I don’t think they’d be willing to give her to a complete stranger.”

“Oh!  Sorry!”  Mark sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.  “Thank you so much.”  Mark went to get out of the car, looking back at Jinyoung.  “Aren’t you coming?”

“What, me?”

“You brought those cookies, didn’t you?  I’m sure she would be happy to have those as soon as possible.”  Mark didn’t know what made him so insistent on having Jinyoung come with him, but he felt weird just leaving him in the car.

“Yes, I did… I mean, if you want me to.”  Jinyoung got out of the car and walked up behind him as he entered the preschool.

As soon as he got inside he was tackled by Celeste, wobbling on his feet and almost toppling over.  “Daddy!  You’re late!”

“Sorry, I know, but I can make it up to you.”  Jinyoung was hiding behind him, trying to stay inconspicuous.  Mark wasn’t sure whether he was embarrassed or just felt out-of-place.  He turned around and took him by the arm pulling him forward.

“I know you!”  Celeste said as soon as she saw him.  “You’re the guy that lives beside us!”

“Yup!  That’s me.”  Jinyoung waved and poked her cheek like he did last time.  “Celeste, do you remember my name?”

Celeste looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, before looking to her dad for help.  Mark mouthed ‘Jinyoung’ towards her.

“Oh!  Jinyoung!”  She said, proud of herself.

“Hey!  That’s right!  Since you’re so smart, you get a prize!”  Jinyoung pulled out his bag of cookies, and held it in front of her face, making a _da-dang_! sound as he did.

“Cookies?”  She grabbed the bag out of his hand and Mark immediately chastised her.

“Hey!  What do you say?”

“Oh… thank you.”  She said, struggling with the tie on top of the bag.

“You’re welcome.”  Jinyoung smiled and patted her fondly on the head.

Mark casually grabbed the bag from her and untied it, handing her one cookie.  “That’s better, you can have one now and you can have the rest later, alright?”

Celeste pouted but she understood.  “ _Fine._ ” She crossed her arms the entire way back to the car.

* * *

 

After Jinyoung drove them home Mark made him come inside, claiming that he needed to at least get him coffee or something to thank him.  So they both sat at Mark’s dining room table, sipping coffee, watching Celeste talk excitedly at them, her energy levels through the roof.

“Daddy!”  She suddenly ran over and slapped him on the arm.  “You’re it!”  She yelled and back away excitedly, but Mark made no effort to get up.

“Celeste, daddy is tired…”  Mark said sympathetically but she just started pouting again.

“Daddy!  You’re it!”  She yelled again, hoping that would convince him to play along.

Jinyoung looked at the both of them and then reached out to grab his hand, lifting it up and tapping it on his arm.  “Oh, look!  I’m it!”  He threatened to jump out of his chair and start chasing and Celeste immediately ran in the opposite direction, making a mad dash for the back yard.

“What are you doing?”  Mark asked, holding back another yawn.

“Don’t worry, I can keep her busy for a bit, you can sleep some more.  You still look like a zombie.”  Mark was skeptical and Jinyoung patted his shoulder comfortingly.    “I’ll keep a good eye on her, you can trust me.”

Mark didn’t have much of a choice, he was sure he was going to pass out at any moment, so she nodded his head and scooted out of his chair as Jinyoung bolted down the hallway trying to catch Celeste.

* * *

 

“Are you going to tell me why you’re being so nice to me?”  Mark had woken up a couple of hours later, with Celeste passed out on the sofa for the time being and Jinyoung sitting in his living room.

“There’s no reason, I just didn’t have much to do today.  This was much more exciting than doing chores.”

Mark was skeptical, but he decided not to question it and just be thankful.  “Where did you learn how to take care of kids so well?”

“I don’t think I’m that great, I have some nieces and nephews I play with a lot.  I did take a parenting course in high school for an extra credit, I was the only guy in the class and I got the highest score.  I guess it comes naturally to me?  I really do love kids, I feel weak in front of them.  I just have to take care of them.” 

Mark nodded; downing another cup of coffee he brewed for himself to stay awake for the rest of the night. “I guess I’m just lucky to have you living next door.”

There was a comfortable silence before Jinyoung spoke.  Mark already knew this question was going to come up sooner or later.  “So… you seem kind of young to have a daughter… by yourself.”

Mark settled back into the couch, getting more comfortable as he braced himself for an onslaught of questions.  “She’s adopted; I’ve had her for three years now.”  Mark said calmly.

“Three years?  Are you older than you look, I assumed…”

“I adopted her when I was 23, so you’re not wrong.”

Jinyoung was as was a bit shocked but Mark was indifferent, he got this reaction all the time.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Jinyoung wiped the shocked expression off his face and settled back down into a comfortable position.  “I was just curious.”

“It’s a long story.”

“I have time.” Jinyoung responded, staring at him intensely.  Mark hadn’t met anyone who still wanted to know this badly, so he relented.  He owed Jinyoung much more than information after all he had done for him.

“I was driving home from work and I got into an accident, a full on collision with a drunk driver.”  Mark hadn’t told this story many times, but he relived it every day in his mind so the memories were still vivid.  “I was okay; I hit my head hard but other than that, no major injuries.” 

Jinyoung looked a bit tense but he motioned for him to continue.

“I managed to crawl out of my car and walk over to the other vehicle.  I hadn’t realized how severe the whole thing was until I saw the entire front of the other car crumpled in, the two people sitting in front crushed and motionless.”

“I’m… sorry.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.  I don’t think it’s a sight I’ll ever forget, I’ve learned to live with the memories and accept what happened.  It wasn’t my fault, but of course, I can’t help but feel responsible.”

Mark sighed and Jinyoung scooted closer to him and rubbed his arm.

“That’s not the end.  That’s when I heard crying, full-blown sobs coming from inside the car.  The back of the car was still intact, and in the back seat was a child.  She was very young, much too young to understand what had happened or that her parents had died.”

“That was… Celeste?”  Jinyoung asked and Mark nodded.

“It’s weird, up until that point in life I’m not sure what I had lived for.  I had just graduated college in a field that I hated, I had a high-paying job in that field that I hated, I went to work every day and did the same tasks that I hated, and I often asked myself what was the point?” 

Jinyoung had somehow worked his way across the couch and was now pressed up against him; his hand found his their fingers interlaced.  Mark wasn’t sure if Jinyoung was doing in consciously or instinctively.  Either way, he appreciated it.

“This is going to sound cheesy, but when I looked at her I suddenly felt like I had some reason for living?  It was strange.  After I managed to get her out the back she was perfectly uninjured, but she refused to let go of me no matter what I did. Eventually, they had to take us both to the hospital; she was still in my arms when they were treating my head wound.”  Mark smiled fondly at the memory.

“So, they just let you adopt her after that?”

“It wasn’t easy; in fact, it was a miracle everything worked out.  No immediate family wanted her, and I had to go through way too many things for the adoption agency for them to let me have her, but in the end, they couldn’t deny someone who had enough income and room to take care of her.”

Jinyoung settled back down, not pressed into his side anymore but their knees were still touching.  “Still, it’s a bit strange.  Wouldn’t you rather wait until you got married and had a child of your own?  What’s the rush?”

“Ever since I moved here dating has been rough. It’s hard to find guys who are open enough about their sexuality to stay in committed relationships, and even if I found a guy we’re not going to be able to have a child of our own anyway.”

“So you’re not into girls… at all?” 

“Oh.”  Mark realized he might’ve let that fact slip a bit too easily.  “I’m only into guys.  I’m sorry if you’re not…”

“It’s fine; I’m the last person who would have a problem with that.”  Jinyoung chuckled and Mark’s heart was suddenly beating faster.

“Wait, so you…”

“I like girls, and guys, and everyone really.  Gender really doesn’t matter to me; I follow my heart, wherever it may lead me.”    Mark realized how much he loved the way Jinyoung spoke.  Fluidly and confidently, vastly different from the way Mark spoke in awkward pauses and simple sentences. 

“That’s… cool.”  Mark wanted to slap himself.  What that the best response he could come up with?  “So, you’d definitely date a guy then?”  _No! That was even worse!_

“Why are you asking that so suddenly?”  Jinyoung leaned towards him and smirked.  “Are you trying to tell me something?”

“No, I mean… I –“

“Daddy!  I’m hungry!”  Celeste’s voice rung loudly through the house and Mark pushed Jinyoung away from him.

“Celeste!  Glad you woke up, I was just about to make dinner!”  Mark stood up abruptly and started walking over to the kitchen. 

“Daddy, why is your face all red?”

“What?!” Mark scrambled around, picking up a nearby spoon and scoping out his reflection.

He could hear Jinyoung laughing loudly, rolling on the sofa as he did.

* * *

 

Mark was hopeless.  There was an emergency at work so he had to run in on his day off but he had nowhere he could take Celeste.  In his last act of desperation, he found himself banging on his neighbour’s door, praying that Jinyoung was home.

Luckily, Jinyoung answered.  “Mark, is that you?  Are you okay?”

“I need to go into work, it’s an emergency, I just really need someone to watch her right now, and I didn’t know who else to ask, I really don’t know anyone who’s close by and can-“

“Whoa whoa whoa, calm down.  It’s fine; I can watch her.”

“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver!  I owe you, even more!  I’ll pay you back, just-“

“Just go!”  Mark thanked him a few more times before he dashed back home to his car and headed to work.

* * *

 

It was late at night when he finally pulled back and Mark felt awful.  Not only had he ruined his day with his daughter, he had dumped her on Jinyoung for several hours.  He was probably upset, and it was late at night so Celeste was most likely cranky. 

He walked up the steps to Jinyoung house and he opened after only two knocks.  “Looks like you had a rough day.”

“I’m _so_ sorry.  I didn’t know I’d be there so long, I feel awful.  Where is she, I can take her.  I’m sorry if she was difficult.”

“Huh, difficult?  I got her some dinner and she went to sleep two hours ago.”

“You… actually got her to sleep?  At a decent hour?”  Mark just stared at him in awe.

“Yes… it wasn’t that bad.”  Jinyoung said, unfazed.

“…How?”

Jinyoung winked at him.  “Magic.”

* * *

 

When he was getting ready to coerce Celeste into bed the next night she was surprisingly calm, crawling under the covers on her own.  Mark felt like he had to be careful as to not ruin the perfect mood and atmosphere.

“Okay, are you ready for me to turn the lights off?” He asked, tucking the blanket in around her.

“Can you read me a bedtime story?”  That was new.  He had read to her before but it never seemed to help her get to sleep, so he had stopped eventually.

“A bedtime story?  I thought you were tired of those.”

“No!  I still like them.  Please?”  She dragged out the _please_ in a cute plea and Mark couldn’t say no.

“Alright.”  Mark looked around until he found the pile of abandoned books in her closet and picked one that he had read long enough ago that she wouldn’t remember it.  He turned to the first page and tilted it towards her so she could see the picture, then he started reading. 

“No!  You’re doing it wrong!”  She protested before he even finished the first page.

“Huh, what am I doing wrong?”

“See, Jinyoung-appa read to me yesterday and it was fun!  When you read it’s _boring_.”  She said, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. 

“Jinyoung- _appa_?  Why are you calling him that?”

“He told me I could call him that.” _Interesting.  “_ Jinyoung-appa reads better!  It’s exciting!”

Mark wasn’t sure what she was trying to say exactly, but he tried to read again, putting more effort into his voices and trying to make it exciting.  Celeste only sighed.

“Forget it; I’ll just go to sleep.”  She said as if she’d given up on life.

Mark decided to ignore the fact his daughter was talking to him like a moody teenager despite being hardly six years old and rejoice in the fact that she was actually going to sleep by her own will.

* * *

 

“I’m going to guess this is a bad time?”  Jinyoung said as Mark opened the door for him.

“No!  Of course not!”  Mark couldn’t help but feel a little better when Jinyoung dropped by.  It had become a regular occurrence for both of them these days.  “Why would you think that?”

“You look like a clown.”  He said simply, pointing at his face.

“Oh.”  Mark had been so excited Jinyoung had stopped by he forgot about the current state of his face.  “ _Oh_.”

“Daddy! Why did you run away?  I still need to put blush!”  Celeste came running from behind him, stumbling as she reached the door.  Mark reached out to steady her before she fell.  “Oh, hi Jinyoung-appa!”  She said happily and Jinyoung looked mortified.

“No, I- I… have no idea why she’s calling me that.”  Jinyoung flushed and Mark just laughed.

“She told me about it already.  It’s fine.”

“Sorry, she just wasn’t sure how to address me and my name was so formal…”  Jinyoung was still blushing.

“Don’t worry, I think it’s cute.”  Mark smirked and Jinyoung just stared at him before smiling back.

“Jinyoung-appa, do you want your makeup done as well?”  Celeste asked sincerely and Jinyoung’s gaze darted between the disaster that was Mark’s face and the cute look on Celeste’s face.

“Hey, I have a better idea!  Do you want me to do _your_ makeup?  I can make you look pretty.”  Jinyoung said.

“Really, can you do that?  Daddy never does my makeup for me!  Yes!!”  She said excitedly before grabbing him by the arm and tugging him into the house.

Mark looked at him skeptically.  “Do you know how to put on makeup?”

“I know a thing or two.”

It turns out; he knew much more than a thing or two.  The way he applied all the powders and pencils made Mark both impressed and curious.

“Okay and lastly… lips.”  He said after he finished applying sparkly eye shadow and moved on to even more sparkly lip gloss.

Celeste was fidgeting excitedly as Jinyoung told her she wasn’t allowed to see what it looked like until he was done.  Mark had to admit, she looked amazing.

“And, done!”  Jinyoung declared triumphantly.

“Let me see!”  Celeste begged, so he held her hand and walked her over to the bathroom mirror, hoisting her up on the counter so she could get a good look.  She gasped as soon as she saw herself.  “I look like a princess!”

“The cutest princess ever.”  Mark said, holding on to her shoulder and making a cute face with her in the mirror.

“Wait, daddy, give me your phone.”  She said, holding her arms out.

“My phone?”

“Yes!  I need to make a selfie!”  She said and both Mark and Jinyoung broke down in a fit of giggles over how cute she was.

“Okay, okay.”  He said after his laughter had calmed down and he reached into his pocket and turned on the camera for her.

She took the camera and used it skillfully, snapping pictures from at least ten different angles.  “Daddy, can we take a picture together too?”  She asked.

Mark still had his botched makeup on his face, as she had gotten angry when he asked if he could wash it off.  He held his head close to her and flashed a smile, as they cutely posed together.  “Is this good?”

“Can we take one with Jinyoung-appa too?” 

Jinyoung looked uneasy.  “Oh, you don’t have to!”  He probably felt like he was intruding on some sort of father-daughter moment.

“I want one with all three of us!”  She pouted and Mark smiled at him.

“You heard the girl.”  Mark said and he pulled Jinyoung into the shot, their faces squished together so they could all fit in the frame.  “Say kimchi!”

The picture was ridiculous in theory. Celeste all dolled up, Mark looking like a clown, and Jinyoung trying not to laugh when he saw Mark’s face again in the camera. 

In Mark’s eyes, it was perfect.

* * *

 

Later that night all the makeup was washed off and Celeste was being tucked into bed, Jinyoung looking in from the doorway.

“Can Jinyoung-appa read me a story?”  She asked and Jinyoung was surprised again.

“Oh, if he doesn’t mind.”  He looked over and Jinyoung.  “I’d like to see these legendary story telling skills as well.”

“I don’t mind.”  He said as he walked in, almost excited to be able to read.

As soon as he started he realized why Celeste loved it so much.

Jinyoung read with passion, changing his voice to match every character, animatedly doing hand motions to represent what’s going on, he even made sound effects to go along with what was happening in the story.  Celeste was giggling nonstop, looking like she was having the time of her life.

As the story winded down his movements became more subtle, his voice slowed down to a whisper, and as soon as he said _the end_ Celeste was already fast asleep.

Jinyoung set the book down and they both tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs before they dare spoke.

“That was amazing, how did you do that?”  Mark said as soon as they reached the bottom.  “She’s usually so difficult to put to sleep.”

“You were watching, weren’t you?”  He said teasingly.

“True but… I don’t think I could replicate that.  I’m not that great at acting…”

“Ah, well it looks like I’ll have to come over here every night then.”  Mark looked and him questioningly.

“Do you want to come over every night?”  Mark asked, in a flirty tone and Jinyoung smiled so hard his eyes wrinkled up. 

“Maybe.”  He finally answered as he plopped himself down on Mark’s couch like he had known him for years.

Mark smiled in response to that as he sat himself down beside him, close enough that their legs were touching.  “Why did you drop by today anyways?”

“Oh I… just wanted to see Celeste.”  Mark wasn’t convinced.

“Is that all?” 

“Hmm,” Jinyoung leaned over, looking him in the eyes.  “I might’ve wanted to see you too.”

“Is that so…”  Mark didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Jinyoung’s lips were softly pressed against his in a delicate kiss.  It ended much too quickly for Mark’s liking but he didn’t want to force it, so he let it end as Jinyoung backed away.

“I should go home,” He said as he got up, not even acknowledging the kiss.  Mark was worried he had done something wrong until Jinyoung spoke again.  “See you tomorrow night?”

Mark let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding.  “Of course.”

* * *

 

It had become a common thing for Jinyoung to drop by when Mark wasn’t at work.  They spent time together with Celeste, taking her places, playing games together, until she eventually passed out and they spent the rest of their energy they had getting to know each other better.

Mark had never thought he needed anyone else but Celeste in his life but the appearance of Park Jinyoung made him doubt himself. 

“Ready or not, here I come!”  Mark was waiting for Jinyoung to stop by as he played hide-and-seek with his daughter.  “Hmmm, don’t think she’s in the living room…” He said aloud, trying to see if he could blow her cover by causing her to laugh.

Soon he had checked all the rooms in the house, from the bedrooms to the bathroom.  “Celeste, where are you hiding?”  He said, making his way out to the backyard, the only possibly place he hadn’t checked yet.  “Celeste!  Are you out here, daddy gives up!”  He yelled.  No answer.

This never happened, Celeste was awful at hide-and-seek.  The games usually barely lasted five minutes.  He entered his home again and started yelling louder for her to come out until he walked far enough to see his front door unlocked and he felt his stomach drop.

“Celeste, Celeste!”  Heart racing he ran out the door to find his daughter, carefully chasing after a squirrel.  It all happened too quickly.  Mark was frozen in place.

The squirrel bolted when she got too close, and she started running after it.  Not paying attention to her surroundings, the squirrel ran into the streets.  His yells fell on deaf ears as she didn’t notice the car racing down the street and she stepped forward.  It was going too fast to stop in time.

The scene was all too familiar to Mark, horns honking, a car speeding, and Celeste being unaware of her surroundings.

There was nothing Mark could do.

* * *

 

“I don’t deserve her.”  Mark sat on the edge of his couch, his head in his hands.  Night had fallen and only Mark and Jinyoung were awake.

“Don’t say that.”  Jinyoung sat next to him, but he didn’t try to touch him.

Everything had happened so quickly, the car couldn’t stop but Jinyoung had seen everything and was able to grab her by the arm and pull her out of the street before anything had happened.

Mark went from having his life flash before his eyes to overwhelming relief and then to sheer anger.

He couldn’t stop himself.  The fear in his heart unleashed his fury.  He didn’t even console her, he just _snapped._

“I don’t know why I had to yell, this is my fault.  If I wasn’t so irresponsible this wouldn’t have happened.”  He turned to look Jinyoung in the eyes, his vision blurred with tears that were about to fall.  “If you hadn’t walked by…”

“Don’t think about that.”

“How can I not think about it?!  Two locks on the door aren’t enough.  I shouldn’t play games like hide-and-seek anymore.  I shouldn’t keep her out of my sight, what was I thinking?!”  Mark was rambling and his heart was racing, thinking about how inadequate he was. 

“Mark, stop.  This isn’t your fault; it was all just an accident.  At the end of the day, we’re all here and we’re all safe.  That’s what matters.”

“Ever since I adopted her I knew it would be rough, me being the only one who could look after her.  She made me so happy, but it hurt every time I had to leave her to go to work.  She doesn’t deserve a dad like me; she deserves to be raised in a _normal_ household. ” Mark tried to discreetly wipe the tears off his face.

“Mark, there’s no such thing as a _normal_ household.  Yes, you’re a single dad with an adopted daughter, but that doesn’t invalidate your ability to take care of a child.”  Jinyoung was always happy to comfort him, so it was strange to see him talk with conviction.

“I’ve always been unreliable, when Celeste grows older she’s going to have so many questions for me, so many questions that I absolutely dread having to answer.  She doesn’t deserve that.”  His voice cracked and it was hard not to sob openly.  He hadn’t felt so broken in a very long time.

“That’s not true, of course, Celeste might be shocked by the truth but that doesn’t mean she’ll hate you for it.  You have done nothing wrong and Celeste loves you more than you can imagine.  You told me before that she’s the reason you keep on living, and I know that she can’t live without you either.”  Jinyoung finally shifted closer and laid an arm on his back and Mark melted into his touch, burying his face in his shirt to hide his tears.  “We all make mistakes, nobody is perfect.  When Celeste was over at my house for she kept telling me how great you were, and how much she loved you, and she kept asking where you were and when you were going to come back.  If there’s so much love in her heart for you that she constantly wants your company, I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong in the past three years.”

Mark couldn’t help but completely break down against him.  He doubted himself for so long; it felt weird to think that he had done something right for a change.  “It just hurts so much that I couldn’t do anything.  I know I can’t be there for her all the time, but even when I’m trying my best it still doesn’t feel like enough. “

“Your best is all you can give; don’t undermine what you’ve accomplished.  Celeste wouldn’t want that, and I’m sure she’ll talk to you again in the morning.”

 “Thank you… for everything.  I couldn’t handle that situation by myself; you calmed her down and if you weren’t walking by into the first place… she…”

“Forget about today.  The past is the past, move forward.”  He finally smiled.  “If you need anything I’m right next door.”

“Are you leaving?”  Mark asked, grabbing his arm and pulling it back around him tightly. 

“You should sleep; I know you have work tomorrow.”

“No, can you stay, please?”  Mark pleaded. He felt still too vulnerable to be alone.

Jinyoung patted his head tenderly.  “If that’s what you want, I’ll stay here as long as you need me to.”

Mark wanted him to stay forever.

* * *

 

“See, just press the glass down into the cookies and… there, perfectly coated with sugar.”

Jinyoung stood in his kitchen, donning an apron with Celeste on a stool next to him, following along as he showed her how to make cookies.  “Wow!”

“Do you want to try it now?  I’ll help.”

Mark watched carefully as he helped her shape cookies and coat them with sugar.  It was so disgustingly domestic it made his heart flutter. 

“Hey, shouldn’t your dad be helping out too?”  It had only been a few days since the incident but Celeste was still hurt from the way he had treated her, no matter how much he apologized.   He had to admit, it was very endearing to see her want to be with Jinyoung more than him the past few days.

“I… don’t know.”  Celeste answered.

Mark walked over and dunked his finger into the bowl of sugar, coating his finger with a bit and putting it in his mouth.  

“Ew, hey!  Did you even wash your hands?  Celeste, your dad is icky.”  Celeste _ew’d_ him as well. 

“My hands are clean—hey!”  Jinyoung took a bit of flour and smeared it across Mark’s nose.  “What was that for?!”

“That was punishment.”  Jinyoung stated and Mark got revenge immediately, taking the flour and smearing it across his cheek.

Celeste cheered and Mark eyed her.  “Celeste, aren’t you on my side?”

She giggled. “No, I think appa is right!” This was the first time Mark had been forsaken by his own daughter in the past three years, it hurt a little.

“Celeste is on my team!”  Jinyoung high-fived her and Mark stuck his finger back in the flour, dotting Celeste’s nose with a bit of flour.

“Guess I have no choice but to fight you both, victory shall be mine!” Jinyoung took that challenge personally as he dunked his hand into the flour bowl and threw it right at Mark’s face.

With Celeste mostly laughing from the sidelines, they engaged in a full-out war, until eventually they both covered head to toe in flour and they decided to call a truce. Celeste had almost fallen right out of her chair with how much she was laughing.

Mark picked her up and smeared more flour on her cheeks.  “You think this is funny, you think daddy covered in flour is funny?”  He rubbed his nose with hers and she continued to giggle.

“Noo!”  She protested unconvincingly. 

Mark was glad Celeste seem to be over the grudge she had held against him, smiling in his arms as he carried away to get her cleaned off. 

After a change of clothes and some washing they were all relatively flour-free, and Celeste clung tightly to her dad as they went downstairs and Jinyoung suggested they watch a kid’s movie together and eat the sugar cookies that Jinyoung had just pulled out of the oven.

The movie hadn’t even started but Celeste suddenly asked Jinyoung to come closer so she could sit with both of them as they watched the movie.  Jinyoung obliged happily, he was no longer unsure if he should be this close.  Celeste had warmed up to him very quickly and Mark had grown used to his presence, feeling lonely when he wasn’t around.

Mark didn’t have to tell Celeste that they were in a relationship for her to know.  He was thankful she seemed content with this development.  In fact, sometimes it even seemed that she preferred Jinyoung to him.  He was better at different things; they complimented each other perfectly with their vastly different interests.

The movie was only half way over but Celeste had toppled over on Jinyoung’s lap, snoring peacefully.  He smiled as he patted her head.  “Looks like she’s too tired to finish, we should turn it off and out her to bed.”  Mark whispered.

When he didn’t get a response he looked over to find Jinyoung leaning against his shoulder, also sound asleep. 

Mark chuckled; there was no way he could move now, so instead he just stared at them sleeping for a bit. 

His entire life he had never imagined a scene so perfect.  When he was in his junior year in high school everything went downhill and kept getting worse as the years went by.  He had never imagined he’d be sitting here, his daughter and boyfriend resting against him.  They weren’t a typical family Mark knew life couldn’t get more ideal than the way it was at that very moment.

He eventually gave in; falling asleep with the two people he loved the most in his arms.

* * *

 

 “I’m sorry but… Cinderella?”  Jinyoung had told him not to laugh, but Mark couldn’t help himself.

“They wanted the best actor to have the lead role in the play.  I was the best actor, so someone suggested I play Cinderella.  I was so good they made me play her for three years straight.  After I graduated they even tried to call me to come play her again.  I turned them down, and they finally had to switch to a new play because nobody could top my Cinderella.”

“Oh my _god_ , that amazing.  No wonder your make-up looks like princess make-up!”

“Yeah yeah okay, are you happy now?  I told you it was a silly story.”  Jinyoung sat across from Mark in the horribly put together thing Mark called a tree house.    Celeste was playing happily below them, both of them keeping an eye out for her.  “Are you sure this thing isn’t going to break?”

“It may be ugly but it’s sturdy, trust me.  I couldn’t let Celeste up here if I wasn’t sure it was safe.”

“She seems to love it so much, considering she spent a good ten minutes up here before she went back down to play on solid ground.”  Jinyoung said while smirking.

“She gives up on all her toys after a week; I can’t say I’m surprised.  It is how it is, although this turned out to be a lot more work that I thought it would be.  I’m going to make sure it gets some use, even if it means I have to sit in here.”

“Is that why we’re up here?  My butt is getting sore.”  Jinyoung went to stand up but Mark crawled over and stopped him.

“That’s not the only reason,” Mark said as he leaned over him, his face getting close to Jinyoung’s.  “From up here, I can see Celeste but she can’t see _me._ ”  Mark went in for a heated kiss but pulled away before anything went anywhere, causing Jinyoung to pout cutely at him and whine.

“Why’d you stop?”

“You didn’t shave this morning… I can feel your stubble.”  Jinyoung looked at him with an exasperated look.

“It’s only been one day; do you really hate it that much?”  Jinyoung had a mischievous look on his face.

Mark tried to back away but he was too slow, Jinyoung pulled him forward and purposely rubbed his face against him.  “Yah!  Stop!”  Mark struggled to get out of his grip.  Soon they were both laughing and their lips met again, Mark too into the moment to even care about the stubble anymore.

“Daddy!”  Mark pushed Jinyoung off of him as soon as Celeste called, and he hit the floor of the tree house with a thud.

“Sorry, my arm moved on its own.”  Mark apologized.

“It’s fine, hurts less than that time you literally _fell_ on me.”

“You should be thankful, if I had never fallen on you, you would have never _fallen_ for me.” Mark laughed loudly at his own pun and Jinyoung smacked his arm.

“Shut up.”  Jinyoung didn’t even laugh.

“I’m really sorry though, that we can’t spend much time together alone.  It’s one of the many wonders of being a parent.”

“Celeste is kind of like my daughter now too, right?  She does call me _appa_.” 

The past few months had been a weird and amazing experience for him.  He no longer felt like he had to everything by himself, Jinyoung practically lived with them and helped with everything.  Celeste absolutely adored him to the point that he was jealous sometimes.  “So you don’t regret it then?”

“Regret what?”

“Falling in love with a guy who already has a kid.”

Jinyoung paused for a moment before he laughed as if the question was so ridiculous he couldn’t believe he asked.  “Of course I don’t regret it,” Jinyoung got up and brushed the dirt off his jeans.  “I’m thankful.”

“Thankful?”  Jinyoung held his arm out to help Mark up.

“Instead of only falling in love once, I got to fall in love twice.”  Jinyoung spoke with such sincerity Mark’s heart almost leaped right of his chest.

“Daddy!!  Appa!!”  Celeste started yelling again.

“Coming!”  Mark yelled back.  Jinyoung was already making his way down, running over to her as soon as his feet hit the ground and pulling her into his arms for a hug.

Fate worked in mysterious ways.  He didn’t know if it was his destiny playing out before him or just the best luck in the world, but he thanked the universe every day for bringing not just one, but two amazing people into his life.


End file.
